Asian shares ended higher Tuesday after strong overnight gains on Wall Street, with commodity stocks buoyed by a bounce in metal and oil prices.
Japan's Nikkei 225 index finally broke a nine-session losing streak, and did so with relish, galloping ahead 211.48 points, or 2.3%, Tuesday, to 9,261.81.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index more than made up for yesterday’s 400-point-plus loss, putting on 631.10 points, or 3.7%
Auto makers were higher in Tokyo after the Nikkei reported they were stepping up production capacity in China amid brisk local demand.
Nissan Motor surged 7.3% and Honda Motor was up 2.7%, while Toyota Motor rose 3.6%.
Brokerage stocks also jumped in the broad market rebound, with Nomura Holdings soaring 6.9%.
Shares of NEC Electronics shot up 10% after the Nikkei reported the company, alongside chip maker Renesas Technology, planned to ramp up output of microcontrollers.
Singapore's Straits Times Index was up in late trading, with sentiment boosted by an upbeat advance reading on second-quarter gross domestic product. The city-state's GDP rose a better-than-expected 20.4% from the previous quarter, on an adjusted basis, from a revised 12.7% decline in the first quarter, though GDP did contract year-to-year.
Resource stocks led the charge across several markets. They'd fallen sharply in the recent past as crude-oil prices slid briefly to below $60-a-barrel level from over $70, and as metal prices fell on concerns that higher inventory levels in China and elsewhere could hurt prices in the next few months.
Rio Tinto rose 5.3% and BHP Billiton climbed 4.9% in Sydney, Mitsui Mining & Smelting surged 7.8% in Tokyo, and Jiangxi Copper added 4.3% in Hong Kong and 1.4% in Shanghai.
Despite the strong rebound, some analysts were skeptical the gains could be sustained.
In Seoul, Posco added 2.3% as its upbeat second-half earnings outlook offset downbeat second-quarter results.
CHINA
China’s Shanghai Composite Index gained 93.74 points, or 2.8%, to 3,454.75, with property developers and insurers boosted by a report of strong performance in June.
Among Chinese property developers, shares of Poly Real Estate rose 1.8% in Shanghai, China Vanke gained 2.9% in Shenzhen and Guangzhou R&F Properties advanced 3.1% in Hong Kong after UOB KayHian cited official data to say national residential sales surged 35% in June from the previous month.
The brokerage also noted that Chinese insurers recorded strong insurance premiums in June.
Shares of Ping An Insurance soared 5.2% in Hong Kong and 8.9% in Shanghai, while PICC Property & Casualty rose 3.3% in Hong Kong.
In currency markets the euro bought 130.48 yen, against 130.08 yen late in New York, and $1.4007 U.S. compared with $1.3994 U.S.. The U.S. dollar was at 93.13 yen, up from 92.85 yen
Elsewhere:
Singapore’s Straits Times Index regained 43.91 points, or 1.9%, to 2,310.55
South Korea’s Kospi index strengthened 7.44 points, or 0.5%, to 1,385.56
Taiwan’s Taiex leaped 108.59 points, or 1.7%, to 6,639.41
New Zealand’s NZX 50 Index ended the day 11.61 points, or 0.4%, higher to 2,748.60
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 lifted itself 129.60 points, or 3.5%, to 3,867.10
